Sidney by the Sea

Its funny how there are places in this world that just seem to fit.   You may never have been there before, but when you get there – it just feels right.  You walk the streets and unwrap a neighbourhood and feel as though it was meant for you.   You sit in the local coffee shop and speak to complete strangers who are happy to make conversation – it’s the middle of a workweek and the pace is peaceful, unhurried.  

Maybe it’s got something to do with the person you’re with, or the common desire to shift gears and make a change.   Maybe it’s timing, maybe its luck or fate.  It’s probably a combination of all of the above, but there is something about the west coast that feels different.  There is something about being close to the ocean and the mountains that make it a beautiful place to be.  A place that you miss dearly when you’re far from it and you wonder how you ever left it for so long.

By day 2 I had discovered my favourite place for coffee and the best breakfast place in town.  I knew where to buy a great bottle of wine off hours (this is BC!) and I could drive Chris to work and back and not get lost.   I took advantage of my alone time while he had the busiest week yet at his new job and I wandered the streets of Sidney with no deadlines, and nowhere to be.  It felt downright luxurious to wander and explore while the details of a pending house deal worked their way out in the background. 

As the week quickly drew to an end the patterns of a new beginning began to show themselves…my walk home from dowtown was on Third Street always because there are more magnolias and cherry trees to see on that route home.  And, if it’s early evening you can see the sun shining on the water as you peer between the waterfront homes.   My morning stop for coffee is already a done deal, and the cashier at the local market smiled at me again like she recognized me.

I think we’re going to like Sidney, it just feels right.